Nothing moves your compulsory motor third-party liability (MTPL) insurance premium more than your bonus-malus class – and the system is far simpler than official jargon makes it look. Once you know its three basic rules, you understand your own premium: claim-free years move you up, an at-fault claim moves you down, and the whole thing follows the person, not the car.
- Under the rules in force, the scale has 15 classes: the malus zone (M04–M01), the entry class A00, and the bonus ladder (B01–B10).
- A claim-free observation year typically means one class up – so reaching B10 usually takes around ten claim-free years.
- Your class is tied to you as the registered keeper: it stays with you when you change cars or switch insurer.
How is the scale structured?
Under the rules in force, the system has 15 classes: four malus classes (M04–M01), the entry class A00, and ten bonus classes (B01–B10). If you're taking out MTPL as a registered keeper for the first time, you start from A00. A higher bonus class means, in practice, a lower premium multiplier – the exact size varies by insurer, because the bonus isn't a centrally fixed discount but part of each insurer's own pricing.
So B10 isn't the name of a package – it's earned claims history: the result of at least ten claim-free years. The Bonus Ladder mini-game on the homepage shows exactly this climb, in half a minute.
What moves your class up?
Moving up depends on closing a claim-free observation period: under the rules in force, this typically requires the vehicle to have had at least 270 days of cover during that period, with no claim becoming known that the insurer had to pay out. If this is met, your class moves up by one in the next policy period.
Two everyday lessons follow from this: a longer gap without cover, or a longer suspension, can cost you that year's step up – and building your bonus is a game of patience, worth protecting.
What happens when you cause a claim?
Your class only moves down because of an at-fault claim – more precisely, one the insurer actually pays out. A claim you suffer through no fault of your own doesn't affect your class. Under the rules in force, one paid claim typically means dropping two classes at the next renewal date; more claims mean more – repeated at-fault claims can even take you down into the malus zone. For the details, and how to weigh up whether it's worth letting the insurer pay for a smaller claim, see the separate article: the effect of an at-fault claim.
The third rule: your class follows you
Bonus-malus is tied to you as the registered keeper, and insurers can see it electronically from the central claims history register. So your earned class isn't lost when you switch insurer, and under the rules it can also be transferred to a new vehicle when you change cars – see the article on transferring your class for the conditions.
This is exactly what this site means by "bonus class protection": timing your switches, car changes and payment deadlines so that your earned class carries over intact.
FAQ: Can I see my own class anywhere?
Yes – in three places. The simplest is your renewal notice: the class valid for the next period is typically shown on it. The second is your insurer's online customer account, where the class appears among the policy details. The third is the official route: under the rules in force, you can request information about your own data from the central claims history register. If the class you see doesn't match what you expected – for example, no step up after a claim-free year – it's worth checking the covered days first (was there a gap or a suspension), then the claims paid out (did a claim only become known later), and if neither explains it, it's time to query it – I'm happy to help with that.
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